Czechs open Fed Cup defense in Germany

Czechs Petra Kvitova and Iveta Benesova will play singles against Germany this weekend as the Czech Republic opens defense of its 2011 Fed Cup title. The Czechs travel to Stuttgart, Germany, for a best-of-five quarterfinal. A hard court had been installed in the Porsche Arena for the matches. Benesova goes against Sabine Lisicki in the opening match Saturday, with Czech captain Petr Pala holding Kvitova, the No. 2-ranked player in the world, for a match against Julia Goerges. Kvitova is to play Lisicki in Sunday's first match, followed by Benesova versus Goerges. The fifth match, if needed, is doubles with Germans Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Angelique Kerber going against Lucie Hradecka and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova. The winner of the series moves into the April 21-22 semifinals against the survivor of a series between Italy and Ukraine. The Czech Republic defeated Russia for the 2011 Fed Cup title. It was the sixth title overall but first since 1988 for the Czechs. Germany had won the Fed Cup twice, the latest time in 1992.